Ficksburg, Free State

Ficksburg offers visitors more than 30 experiences, including visits to cherry and asparagus farms; hiking and horse riding in magnificent sandstone mountains; a leisurely cruise through a private nature reserve aboard the White Mischief; and sampling decadent chocolates made in the village by an Alaskan chocolatier.

Did you know?

The first successful cherry trees were planted in South Africa in 1905 on the farm Platkop in the Clocolan district near Ficksburg.

Ficksburg, in the Free State province, is an attraction-filled rural destination 400km from Johannesburg that offers a wide range of out-of-the-ordinary activities.

Gavin Boy, who runs a Ficksburg advertising agency, has put together an appealing visitor’s guide to the area, which includes chocolates, cherries and a riverboat ride.

'Our goal is to encourage people to come and explore this beautiful rural destination, and so we put together a list of exciting experiences that people of all ages and interests can enjoy,' says Boy, who is also coordinator of the annual Cherry Festival.

Ficksburg is the largest cherry-producing area in South Africa, and hosted its first Cherry Festival in 1968. At the festival, which takes place in November each year, visitors can indulge in fresh, succulent cherries.

If cherries are not for you, then perhaps a visit to an asparagus farm may be of more interest.

There is also a chocolate factory in the village, where decadent McKinley Chocolates are made by chocolatier Calen Thomas from Alaska, who visited Ficksburg some years ago, fell in love with it and stayed.

Another indulgence is White Mischief, a riverboat owned and managed by Boy. Sip cocktails or enjoy fine single-malt whisky as White Mischief cruises along the Meulspruit Dam through Thaba Sediba Private Nature Reserve.

It’s a wonderful birding experience, with over 100 species to be spotted, including fish-eagles, goliath herons and malachite kingfishers.

If you’re the active sort, you have a choice of hikes and horse trails in the area. And if you are interested in farm crafts, you can learn how to make cheese or down duvets.

For an artistic experience, visit Ficksburg’s Pellissier Gallery, with its world-renowned Pierneef San murals.

While in town follow the Sandstone Way, and learn about the village’s historic sandstone buildings, built from the surrounding sandstone mountains, which glow golden in the early morning and late afternoon light.

Modal title

Email address

Full name

Twitter handle

Blogger's website

Your chance of being chosen as a #MeetSouthAfrica blogger will be much higher if you create a social profile on Webfluential - this allows us to see just how influential you are. Click submit to continue to Webfluential

Email Address *

Full name *

Company name *

For your travel company to be part of the #MeetSouthAfrica Blogger trips, you need to be registered on the South African Travel Directory. If you are, well done! If not, please register your company. You will be redirected as soon as you click submit.